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Friday, 29 June 2018

Review: Rhiannon, Divine Queen of the Celtic Britons

Rhiannon from Celtic mythology is much loved by many modern pagans. She is first encountered in the Welsh legends of Y Mabinogi (or The Mabinogion) as a beautiful Otherworldly lady on a white horse. She marries Prince Pwyll of Dyfed and later rules beside him as his queen, but also goes through a series of trials and tribulations.

Using wisdom, quiet perseverance and a little magic, she overcomes - or helps overcome - every obstacle set in the way of herself, her family and her country. But, is she actually a goddess?

That is the question a new book Pagan Portals - Rhiannon, Divine Queen of the Celtic Britons, seeks to answer. It does this by closely examining the texts she appears in and also comparing the common symbolism of folklore and mythology used to indicate divine status.

To truly know Rhiannon, we must excavate the layers of her myth, decode the meaning of her symbols, and seek to restore the significance of her very name. Although she has a mythology around her, and has many modern-day devotees, nowhere in ancient lore has she been identified as a Goddess. We have no known cult centers or devotional altars dedicated to Rhiannon. How then do we approach this revered Lady? How can we best know her as Goddess? We need but call to her, and ask for what we need. Be it her bag of plenty, the soul-healing song of her birds, or the empowerment of the sovereignty she holds, when you call to Rhiannon, the Divine Queen of the Britons, know that she will stop… and know that she will answer your call.

At the end of the book, following meticulous academic research into Rhiannon's place as an ancient deity, author Jhenah Telyndru describes ways in which modern pagans can worship and honour her. This includes appropriate shrines and altars, offerings, trance journeys, prayers, chants and invocations.

Pagan Portals - Rhiannon is a book anyone interested in Celtic mythology should read. It is also an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to work with Rhiannon in modern pagan ritual.

Jhenah holds an MA in Celtic Studies from the University of Wales, Trinity St. David. She is the founder of the Sisterhood of Avalon and is lead instructor of the Avalonian Thealogical Seminary.